Leon nodded, said goodbye to Alan, and left the place. He opened the guild panel and pressed the [Leave] menu to quit the Avalon Guild.
His decision was final and certain. He couldn't go back.
His goal now was to help Ethan in his difficult time, because after all, Ethan had once helped him before.
Now, it was Leon's turn to return the favor.
He walked away from the guild base and stepped onto the main street of the city.
Black smoke was still rising in the east, but it wasn't as thick as before.
Leon felt curious about the condition of the Twilight Guild. He walked toward the path leading to the eastern area of the city and saw a crowd of people gathered, all wondering about the source of the smoke.
After pushing through the crowd, Leon made it to the front and clearly saw the ruins of the Twilight Guild base—only piles of worthless rubble remained.
There were also bodies scattered across the ground, most of them with deep sword wounds.
Leon had expected this. Ethan's power was more than enough to wipe out an entire famous guild in one city.
"There's an order from the Alanor Guild, ruler of Porco," someone said.
"He's commanding all guilds based in the city to issue an emergency mission to capture EthanArk."
Since Leon wasn't part of any guild anymore, he had no obligation to follow that order.
Even so, he couldn't help but worry. The number of players in Porco who were in guilds reached around five to ten thousand people.
With Porco being a small city—not as big as Mavelard—it would be easy for players to sweep through and search every corner.
Ethan! Things are getting messier. How are you going to avoid them?
Leon left the guild's ruins after confirming Twilight was completely destroyed.
His first destination was the village street inside the city—the place where he first met Ethan.
When he arrived, Ethan wasn't there. He checked the inns along the road, but still couldn't find him.
Leon guessed that Ethan was somewhere else or had already left the city.
That would be his best choice after realizing he had killed so many Twilight Guild players.
"If he's not here, then he must be outside the city," Leon said to himself.
He let out a long sigh and scratched his head, feeling puzzled about Ethan.
Leon knew Ethan had experience in the Tower of Ascension, but things were very different now.
Back then, there was no such thing as friendly fire or player killing, so players couldn't hurt each other.
Now, even AoE skill attacks could affect other players—and kill them.
Given Ethan's current situation, the news about him destroying a guild in Porco in just one day would spread to every city in the region.
He'd become a real threat to other players—or a valuable target for those who wanted to use his strength.
No… Ethan's smart and cautious. He wouldn't let anyone use him that easily.
If Ethan's not in Porco, then my only chance is to try one place…
Mavelard City—the LionArk headquarters.
With no better options, Leon walked away from the city streets toward the northern gate.
Even though his level hadn't reached the 40s yet, he didn't pose any threat to other players.
He hadn't killed anyone, nor had he betrayed anyone. Leon was confident he could reach Mavelard safely.
***
The next day.
A village west of Porco City.
[Crystal Spirit Installed]
[Crystal Spirit: Spirit Volcano (Epic) || Leaf of Fire (Rare) || Purify Flame Essence (Epic)]
[ATK: 7462 || DEF: 6625]
He replaced some of his low-ranked Crystal Spirits with higher ones. It was obvious Ethan didn't get them from an Enhance Crystal shop—he'd looted them from the Twilight Guild.
He had collected lots of items and equipment, but after checking each item's stats and comparing them with his own, everything else was weaker.
Except for the Crystal Spirits he got. Since some of Ethan's previous Crystals were low level, the new, higher-ranked ones made a big difference.
The proof was clear—his Base ATK and DEF had increased. If he decided to upgrade his Soul Servant's level and skill levels, his Base ATK could probably reach nine thousand.
"I didn't expect my Base ATK to go over five thousand… that fits the requirement for LionArk members."
In the quiet village outside western Porco, Ethan faintly heard shouting and orders coming from outside the inn.
He peeked through a gap in the curtains and clearly saw a combined squad from various Porco guilds searching through the area.
Looks like they've started the hunt for me.
The fall of the Twilight Guild, one of the city's main guilds, had shocked many.
On top of the Red Notice, Ethan guessed every guild had issued special missions for members to capture him.
Yesterday's incident was brutal. So many died, and the destruction was massive. I'm sure my Red Notice bounty just went up again.
In short, Ethan had become a prime target for every guild leader seeking that reward.
Because of this, all Porco guilds had formed a temporary alliance to capture him.
"This is bad. I could take them all down, but that would just make things worse," Ethan muttered.
Players were entering houses and searching around, even checking the inns.
They only needed to ask the receptionist NPC for Ethan's name. If Ethan had checked in as a public guest, his name would've been revealed.
Luckily, there was an incognito feature that made the receptionist unable to tell whether Ethan was staying there or not.
Their only choice was to do a forced search.
But they didn't seem to do that. Maybe because the inn had too many rooms, or because they didn't have enough time.
According to what Ethan heard, the Porco alliance believed he was hiding in the forest—just like after the Nile City massacre.
That's why players preferred to do surface checks in the villages and inns, then focus their main search in the forest.
Ethan was safe, for now. He watched many alliance players leave the inn before closing the curtain again.
He sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted, thinking about his situation.
"Because yesterday's tragedy was so bad, the system punished me by extending my PK timer to three years."
"Damn…" Ethan groaned, lying back on the bed and exhaling.
It all started from that talent quest… and now I'm the most wanted man in the whole game.
I wonder how Ashley would react if she found out EthanArk is actually EthanAsh666.
According to his map, the distance from this village to Mavelard City was about twelve hours on foot.
Everything felt so realistic. The teleport feature between cities had been disabled since the start for some unknown reason.
Even so, Ethan knew the tension around Porco was still high. If he tried to leave now, he might get intercepted by other players and forced into another fight.
"One week… should I just wait a week?" Ethan murmured.
"One week is the incubation limit for my Pet Viper."
After thinking it over for a while in silence, Ethan made his decision.
"I'll stay here until my pet hatches."